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High-level ITU talks address rampant patent litigation
Innovation-stifling use of intellectual property to be tackled
Geneva, 6 July 2012 – In light of recent patent disputes that have caused
shipments of goods to be impounded at docks and the worldwide increase in
standard essential patent (SEP) litigation, ITU will host a high-level
roundtable discussion between standards organizations, key industry players and
government officials at ITU headquarters in Geneva, on 10 October 2012.
The
ITU Patent Roundtable will address the worldwide surge in patent
litigation and the growing lack of adherence to standards bodies’ existing
patent policies. Topics include potential improvements to existing policy
frameworks, entitlement to injunctive reliefs, and definitions of what
constitutes a royalty base.
Discussions on the relevance of current arrangements based around reasonable
and non-discriminatory (RAND) patent policies will be a key focus. RAND-based
policies have thus far been an effective way of managing natural tensions
between patent holders, standards implementers and end-users. However, the
definition of what constitutes ‘reasonable’, and whether or not holders of SEPs
are entitled to injunctive relief are now emerging as major points of
contention.
The information and communication technology (ICT) industry in particular is
affected, with key protocols implemented in devices sometimes encompassing
hundreds of patents. If just one patent holder decides to demand unreasonable
compensation for use of its intellectual property (IP), the cost of the device
in which that IP is implemented can skyrocket.
Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General: “We are seeing an unwelcome trend
in today’s marketplace to use standards-essential patents to block markets.
There needs to be an urgent review of this situation: patents are meant to
encourage innovation, not stifle it. Acknowledging patent holders and user
requirements, as well as market needs, is a balancing act. This timely
multi-stakeholder roundtable will help press for a resolution on some of the
critical issues.”
The development of technical standards more and more frequently anticipates
technology, as opposed to following it, leading to potentially challenging
situations. ITU, as the world’s pre-eminent global standards-making body,
strives to accommodate both end-user requirements and the intellectual property
requirements of the originator of the technology. This need for balance led to
the development of an IPR policy on the basis of RAND – a policy that will
continue to demand ongoing review to address the new challenges of the fast
growing ICT industry.
For more information, please contact:
Toby Johnson
Senior Communications Officer,
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Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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For editors: additional quotes
Amy Marasco, General Manager, Standards Strategy and Policy, Microsoft
Corporation: “Microsoft is pleased that the ITU is organizing this global event
to explore current issues related to RAND licensing commitments made to
standards-setting bodies. We look forward to participating in this timely
discussion.”
Dr Knut Blind, Chair of Innovation Economics, Berlin University of
Technology: “Standards and patents are crucial indicators of technological
development, the central force driving growth in modern information and
knowledge economies. However, complexity arises because, while patents restrict
the use of technologies, international standards aim to make technologies
globally-accessible. As a result, standards developers and patent holders are
sometimes at odds, so I thank ITU for convening this roundtable to discuss the
RAND-based IPR policies which should continue to mediate this fierce, but in
general fruitful relationship.”
Feng Pan, Deputy Director-General, China Communications Standards Association
(CCSA): “International standards should represent globally-agreed best practices
for the cutting-edge of technology, reflecting innovation occurring across the
world. As a consequence, international standards bring all countries up to speed
with the latest technological developments, enabling further,
internationally-harmonized ICT development. Standards thus often demand the
inclusion of patented technology, and CCSA looks forward to ITU’s IPR roundtable
where standards-developers and patent-holders can express their concerns with
RAND-based policies and suggest means of balancing the relationship between
standardization and intellectual property.”
Jongbong Park, Telecommunications Technology Association: “TTA is a standards
developing organization (SDO) in the Republic of Korea and, given the imperative
of cooperation and collaboration between national SDOs when developing
international standards, TTA will definitely join other SDOs at ITU’s IPR
roundtable to deliberate the IPR issues of critical importance to us all.”
Yoichi Maeda, CEO of Telecommunications Technology Commission: “TTC in Japan
is pleased to send an IPR expert to ITU’s roundtable on RAND-based patent
policies to exchange innovative ideas that can guide future discussions on
whether current patent policies and existing industry practices adequately
respond to the needs of various stakeholders.”
Florian Mueller, Analyst and author of Foss Patents blog: “Litigation over
standard-essential patents is on the rise, worldwide. Judicial and regulatory
decisions can help give meaning to FRAND, and this is the right time for leading
standard-developing organizations to brainstorm about clear rules able to limit
the scope of future disputes involving standards.”
Dr Michel Goudelis, European Patent Office: “Patents are an exception to the
general principle of free competition and enterprise and accordingly need to be
granted very judiciously, applying a rigorous quality policy. That policy
includes taking into account all relevant documents accessible and revealing the
state of the art, including technical standards, in order to ensure the granting
of legally safe and transparent patents commensurate with the inventions they
protect. EPO has a long-standing involvement in the area of standardization. It
is committed by its mission to the delivery of high-quality services, to
transparency and to advocacy. Therefore, we have signed agreements with the
leading Standardization Organisations, such as ITU, IEEE and ETSI, to include
documentation from standard developing organizations in our patent searching
activities. We also pursue a harmonized approach in this field across the major
economic regions. A first step has been reached with the enhanced technical
cooperation of the EPO with the patent offices of the US, China, Japan and
Korea, where patent harmonization with a view to improving and securing quality
is a key perspective. We are convinced that patent litigation frequency and
intensity can be significantly reduced through the institutional cooperation
between the standardization and the patent systems.”
Brian Scarpelli, Government Affairs, Telecommunications Industry Association:
“TIA, a leading developer of voluntary industry standards and specifications for
ICT industry, applauds ITU for convening a roundtable where reasonable and
non-discriminatory (RAND) patent policies can be discussed with key
stakeholders. TIA believes that RAND patent policies balance implementers’ need
to access and use patented technology included in a standard with patent
holders’ need to preserve their rights in a way that encourages them to innovate
and contribute their inventive solutions to the standardization effort, making
patented technology available to all on RAND terms and conditions. This
roundtable is very timely, and we look forward to hearing from and engaging with
others on this topic at October’s event.”
Thomas Goode, General Counsel, Alliance for Telecommunications Industry
Solutions (ATIS): “Since ATIS’ inception over 30 years ago, it has maintained a
patent policy that balances the interests of standards-essential patents (SEP)
owners and standards implementers. ATIS believes that it is important to provide
the opportunity and incentives for SEP owners to make their intellectual
property available for inclusion in standards, while allowing implementers broad
access to such technology. ATIS is aware that disputes have arisen with greater
frequency, recently involving RAND/FRAND issues. While such disputes have
generally not been directed toward ATIS standards, ATIS is pleased to take part
in the discussions being hosted by the ITU on this subject.”
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